Piercing spout

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a piercing spout having a threaded collar and intersecting piercing blades connected to the collar. Surface portions of the free rim of the collar in the areas between respective blades are recessed and inclined in the counterdirection to the lead of the first thread.

United States Patent Weber Dec. 23, 1975 PIERCING SPOUT [56} ReferencesCited [76] inventor: Alwin Weber, Uetlibergstrasse 178, UNITED STATESPATENTS 3003 Zurich, Switzerland 1,016,135 1/1912 Foans .1 222/90 [22]Filed: g 16, 1974 3,549,049 12/1970 Weber 222/91 PP 498,074 PrimaryExaminer-Robert B. Reeves Rdated Application Data AssistantExaminer-John P. Shannon [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 329,215, Feb. 2,1973, Atmmey Agem Marmorek abandoned.

[57] ABSTRACT [30] Fore'gn Apphcatw'on Pnomy Data Disclosed is apiercing spout having a threaded collar b- 1972 Switzerland 1948/72 andintersecting piercing blades connected to the collar. Surface portionsof the free rim of the collar in the [52] US. Cl. 222/91 areas betweenrespective blades are recessed and in- [51] Int. Cl. B67B 7/26 dined inthe counterdirection t0 the lead Of the fiI'St [58] Field of Search222/89, 90, 91', 30/55, th i 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures FIG] PIERCINGSPOUT This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 329,215, filed Feb.2, 1973, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to punchcutting spouts operable for piercing bags, sacks, hulls of juicy fruitsor thin walled containers of paper, cartons, plastics and the like, andsubsequently to be sealingly held on the wall of such container to pourout a loose material or a liquid contained therein.

Such piercing spouts have been already known from prior art andconventionally are provided with a cup having open top and a bottomassociated with a contact flange which abuts against the wall of thecontainer and which is provided with a discharge opening usually ofsmaller diameter than that of the cup. The opposite side of the contactflange is connected to a collar having a cutting thread on its exteriorand extending into a tapering or pointed piercing member definingapertures communicating with the discharge opening.

To make the tapering piercing member in the form of a plurality ofintersecting thin walled blades converging from the collar to a commonpiercing point and intersecting so as to have a cross-like or bar-likecross-section, has been also known.

In placing the piercing spout into its working position, its inner orpunch cutting part, that is the pointed piercing member, is first driventhrough the container wall whereby the piercing member makes acrossshaped cut in the container wall. Subsequently, the threaded collaris screwed into the cross-shaped hole. During the rotary movement, thewall segments of the container, resulting between the cuts are bentinwardly by the tapering blades and the hole attains a cuircular shapeby engaging the thread on the collar until the contact flange abutsagainst the outer surface of the container.

Such prior art piercing spouts have the disadvantage, however, resultingfrom the fact that the wall segments exert a considerable resistanceespecially at the begining of the rotary movement when screwing-in thecollar into the container wall. The resistance increases with theincrease in the size of the piercing spout and with the increase of thethickness of the container wall, or when the container is made of anunyieIdabIe-material; as a result, the operator has to overcomeconsiderable forces and the manipulation is difficult.

An object of this invention, is to remove the abovementioneddisadvantages by providing a spout which can be easily manipulated evenin connection with relatively unyieldable walls of a container.

Another object of this invention is to provide a spout which has anincreased passage for discharging the liquid or loose material from acontainer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above objects are attained by providing thethreaded collar between the flange of the spout cut and the pointedpiercing member, in the region adjacent the piercing member, withrecesses defining between individual ribs or blades of the piercingmember and the first or lead-in thread substantially triangularly shapedportions of the side wall of the collar; the inclined diagonal rimsurface of those triangular wall portions slopes downwardly in thecounterdirection to the lead of the thread, from the intersectionbetween a blade with the rim of the collar, and the intersection of thepreceding blade with the first thread. The blades define apertures whichcommunicate interiorly with the opening in the flange, the apertureshaving edges establishing the boundaries of the inclined side wallportions of the collar.

In contrast to piercing spouts of conventional design, where the bladesor ribs at the beginning of the rotary screw-in movement act against thepunched wall segments of the container at a substantially right angle inorder to fold them inwardly, the inclined and recessed rim portions ofthe collar in the piercing spout of this invention exert pressureagainst the segments on an inclined path; due to the fact that therecessed rim portions slope downwardly in the counterdirection to thelead of the thread, they are introduced against the pierced wallsegments of the container diagonally, first from a base defined by apart of the adjacent first thread, and then upwardly towards the rim ofthe collar. As a result, the pierced segments of the container wall aresubject to an additional pressure in the direction of bending.Consequently, the resistance of the container material becomessubstantially reduced and the formed hole is more easily accommodated tothe shape of the collar or of the spout.

To make the bending of the container wall segments still easier, theinclined recessed portions of the rim are slightly curved and the outeredges of those portions are either cut-off or rounded. By this measure,the resistance of material during the bending of the container wallsegments is easily overcome.

The discharging aperture in the ribs, according to another feature ofthis invention. is increased by directing the inner boundaries of theapertures upwardly to form a triangular cut-off aperture tapering towardthe axis of the spout; within the region of the collar, the innerboundaries are tapering toward the intersection of the collar with thedischarge opening in the flange of the cup. In this manner, theflow-through resistance is reduced and the cross-sectional area of theentire passage is increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING For a better understanding of thenature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to thefollowing detailed description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. I is a side view of the piercing spout according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the container of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plane view of the container of FIG. I with the lid removed;and

FIG. 4 is a side view of the piercing spout of this invention in itsworking position in connection with the container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the figures, the piercing spout Iaccording to this invention includes a spout cup 3 preferably providedwith a hinged lid or cover 2 for covering the open top of the cup. Thebottom of the cup 3 is provided with a flange 4. The cup 3, cover 2 andthe flange 4 form an outer part of the spout.

The inner part of the spout is formed by a piercing member 5 connectedto the opposite side of the flange 4 and defining therewith adischarging opening. The

piercing member includes a collar 7 supporting an external thread 6having a sharp angled cross-section and leading from the free rim of thecollar 7 as far as to the stop flange 4. The free rim of the collar 7 isconnected with a tapering pointed member 8 which is assembled of aplurality of intersecting ribs or blades 9 having sharp outer cuttingedges 10. The blades 9 thus have a star-like or cross-likecross-section. The first thread includes a lead-in portion which startsat the beginning of the rim of the collar 7, near the intersection of arib or blade 9 with the rim.

According to one feature of this invention, the collar 7 in the areabetween respective blades 9 and the first thread 6 has inclined recesses21 which are cut in the side wall of the rim portion of collar 7; therecesses 21 define inclined rim surfaces 11 sloping downwardly from arib in counterdirection to the lead of the thread 6 and their lowerparts run adjacent the first thread toward the intersection of the firstthread with a preceding rib or blade 9. As a result, the inclined rimsurfaces 11 extend from the first thread 6 to the base of the taperedpointed member 8 and terminate near the intersection of the cutting edge10 of each blade 9 with the free rim of the collar 7. The diagonallydirected rim surfaces 11 are preferably slightly curved so as to facilitate the displacement and bending of the pierced wall segments of thecontainer when the spout l is rotated and the thread is screwed into thewall. Furthermore, the outer edges of the rim surfaces 11 are rounded orinclined toward the axis of the spout.

Another feature of this invention resides in the in creased dischargeapertures 16 provided between the discharge opening of the annular stopflange 4 and the intersection blades 9 in the region of the collar 7. Asseen in the drawing, each blade 9 is connected to the inner wall 17 ofthe collar 7 and the apertures 16 define inner edges taperingapproximately towards the pointed tip of the pointed member. Theresulting triangular blade sections are connected substantially at aright angle with the portions of the recessed side wall of the collar 7which therefore reinforce the base of the pointed tapering member. Theinner edges of apertures 16, approximately on the level of the rim ofthe collar 7, are inclined towards the axis of the spout at a sharperangle to converge approximately near the central area of the blades 9.The apertures 16 together with the recesses 21 form in this manner anincreased discharging passage of the spout.

Flange 4 further supports a pivot socket 12 for supporting trunnions 13,each projecting from a tongue 14 on the cover 2. The snap-latching ofthe cover 2 is accomplished by a snap tongue 20 resiliently projectingfrom the tip of the cover 2 to snap engage a lip 19 on the spout cup 3.

The operation of the piercing spout of this invention is as follows:

When the pointed blades 9 form in the wall of a container a cross-shapedcut and as soon as the spout is rotated to the right to screw the thread6 into the container wall, the diagonally directed rim surfaces 11engage the container wall segments surrounding the crossshaped cut andbend the segments inwardly on an inclined path. The inclined outer edgesof the rim surfaces 11 additionally facilitate this bending movement ofthe wall segments and render the manipulation of the entire spout lessdifficult. Moreover, due to the combination of apertures 16 with therecesses 21 in the side wall of the collar 7, the discharge passage ofthe spout is also increased. The resulting hole in the con tainer wallhas smooth fringes and accommodates itself easier to the collar.

If the piercing spout is to be employed primarily for a powderymaterial, the step on the sealing stop flange 4 exceeding the outerdiameter of the collar 7 is unnecessary. In the case of liquid, however,the flange 4 is advantageous for making a sealing contact surface.

To minimize manufacturing costs of the piercing spout 1, the entirespout with the exception of the cover 2, is made as a single piece bymolding thermoplastic for example.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described, for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tobe secured by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. In a piercing spout, for use in connection with thin walledcontainers, said spout including a cup that is open on top, a flangeconnected at its upper side to the bottom of said cup for defining adischarge opening, a piercing member including an axially elongatedcollar having one end thereof connected to the underside of the flange,a tapered, pointed member secured to the other end of the collar and anexternal threading on said collar extending from a first thread nearsaid pointed member towards said flange including a plurality ofintersecting blades having cutting edges, the blades converging from thecollar towards a common piercing point, said blades having end edgeswhich, in combination with said collar, define apertures, said aperturescommunicating interiorly with said discharge opening, a plurality offree rims formed on the end of the collar opposite the flange, each saidfree rim comprising an inner wall surface and a corresponding outer wallsurface, the improvement comprising, each free rim defining a recessededge portion between said wall surfaces in the areas between adjacentblades and the first thread, each recessed edge portion being inclinedin a direction counter to the incline of the thread.

2. A piercing spout according to claim I, said first thread comprising alead-in portion starting near each free rim of said collar.

3. A piercing spout according to claim 2, wherein one blade of saidtapered pointed member is located near said lead-in thread portion.

4. The improvement according to claim I wherein each said inclinedrecess portion of said rim defines a substantially triangular wallportion in the collar.

5. The improvement according to claim 1 wherein each said recessedportion extends from the intersection of a blade with the first threadtowards the intersection of a preceding blade with said free rim.

6. The improvement according to claim 1 wherein said inclined recessedportion is slightly curved.

7. [n a piercing spout, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising saidinner wall surface extending beyond the corresponding outer wall surfaceproviding for a bevel on said recessed edge portion, whereby theresistance of the container wall to bending, is easily overcome.

1. In a piercing spout, for use in connection with thin walledcontainers, said spout including a cup that is open on top, a flangeconnected at its upper side to the bottom of said cup for defining adischarge opening, a piercing member including an axially elongatedcOllar having one end thereof connected to the underside of the flange,a tapered, pointed member secured to the other end of the collar and anexternal threading on said collar extending from a first thread nearsaid pointed member towards said flange including a plurality ofintersecting blades having cutting edges, the blades converging from thecollar towards a common piercing point, said blades having end edgeswhich, in combination with said collar, define apertures, said aperturescommunicating interiorly with said discharge opening, a plurality offree rims formed on the end of the collar opposite the flange, each saidfree rim comprising an inner wall surface and a corresponding outer wallsurface, the improvement comprising, each free rim defining a recessededge portion between said wall surfaces in the areas between adjacentblades and the first thread, each recessed edge portion being inclinedin a direction counter to the incline of the thread.
 2. A piercing spoutaccording to claim 1, said first thread comprising a lead-in portionstarting near each free rim of said collar.
 3. A piercing spoutaccording to claim 2, wherein one blade of said tapered pointed memberis located near said lead-in thread portion.
 4. The improvementaccording to claim 1 wherein each said inclined recess portion of saidrim defines a substantially triangular wall portion in the collar. 5.The improvement according to claim 1 wherein each said recessed portionextends from the intersection of a blade with the first thread towardsthe intersection of a preceding blade with said free rim.
 6. Theimprovement according to claim 1 wherein said inclined recessed portionis slightly curved.
 7. In a piercing spout, as claimed in claim 1,further comprising said inner wall surface extending beyond thecorresponding outer wall surface providing for a bevel on said recessededge portion, whereby the resistance of the container wall to bending,is easily overcome.